Practicing law since 1979, James B. Spina is well-experienced in real estate transactions, property transfers, wills, trusts, powers of attorney and estate planning. His fees are very reasonable, affordable for just about anyone.

I work with senior citizens, their families, and small business owners to get their affairs organized, safeguard their estates, and prepare succession plans. In matters of probate or trust administration, I work with personal representatives to properly manage the administration of the estate and advise them of their legal duties along the way. My experience in these practice areas has been exclusive since I have been private practice. In 2010, I expanded my practice territory to include Lake County, Indiana by obtaining an Indiana law license.

Attorney engaged in the Private Practice of Law as a Solo Practitioner in the areas of real estate and housing law, eviction and real estate litigation, family law, divorce and child support/custody, probate and guardianship, commercial law, and litigation. Experience in government, corporate and private practice environments. Broad range of experience in other areas including: corporate law, intellectual property, business management, litigation, government legal environments, compliance, and real estate acquisitions. Practicing Illinois Attorney for 27 years and Arbitrator for the Cook County Court system since 1990. Extensive experience in management, administration, negotiations and contracting.
Both South Suburban and Chicago Office...

I am Thomas Eric Ost. As a former Assistant Public Defender in DuPage County, I handled hundreds of criminal, mental health, and juvenile cases. Those cases ranged from DUIs, Domestic Batteries, and Retail Thefts to Aggravated Batteries and Murder. The police and the prosecutors seem to do their best to dehumanize defendants to everyone including to the defendants themselves. Yet in 23 years of practice, I’ve learned that most people with legal problems are not bad people. They are people who are caught up in a problem a lot bigger than they...

Attorney Kelly Karczmar graduated from the University of Chicago with honors in 1994. She graduated from the John Marshall Law School in 2005, where she served in the Fair Housing Legal Clinic. Ms. Karczmar served for six years as a Human Resources Director in a Fortune 100 company. She was responsible for union negotiations, employee relations and legal compliance. Ms. Karczmar is an attorney admitted to practice in the state bar of Illinois, as well as the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. She has practiced law since 2005. She is a member of...

Sarah A. Nolan practices out of the firm's Orland Park office, where she practices in a variety of areas of law, including: Family Law, Estate Planning, Bankruptcy, Creditor Negotiations and Litigation. Ms. Nolan handles cases in Cook County and the surrounding collar counties. Ms. Nolan received her Bachelor of Arts degree, Cum Laude, from Loyola University of Chicago in 2005. In 2009, Ms. Nolan earned her Juris Doctorate from DePaul University - College of Law. Ms. Nolan joined Anderson & Associates, P.C. in 2010 and was hired on as an associate attorney. She is admitted to practice in...

Mr. Shestokas earned his B.A. in Political Science from Bradley University in 1975 and his Juris Doctor from The John Marshall Law School, cum laude, in June of 1987. He also studied law at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
Mr. Shestokas is the author of Get Your Illinois Suspended License Back. He has appeared in court on cases involving suspended/revoked driver's licenses more than 10,000 times as a prosecutor or a defense attorney. He is the feature writer in the area of Law, Crime & Justice for the online magazine, Suite 101.
David J. Shestokas concentrates...

George Schoenbeck represents clients in estate planning, estate administration, business succession planning, business general counsel matters and commercial transactions. He enjoys assisting his clients in navigating through the various obstacles they face in their estate and business matters. George Schoenbeck received his juris doctor from the Chicago-Kent College of Law and was conferred a Bachelors of Science in Accountancy with highest honors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mr. Schoenbeck has written articles published in the Illinois Bar Journal and various Section Council Newsletters of the Illinois State Bar Association on the topics of estate planning, estate administration,...

Mr. Petti is a resident of Elburn, IL. He was born in Philadelphia, PA, and grew up in Pittsburgh PA and Evanston IL. He has acted as legal counsel for both small and large businesses. He has been associated with private law practice firms in Chicago and the Chicago Suburban area. For the past twenty two years, he has maintained his principal law office in Kane County, Illinois.
Mr. Petti's corporate law work includes serving as staff counsel for Motorola and General Counsel of Andrew Corporation, two international electronic businesses.
His trial work has taken him from Connecticut to...

Trisha focuses her private practice on individual and small business transactional and compliance matters. She handles all areas of real estate law, estate planning and probate matters, and business transactions and compliance. She believes in actively listening and communicating with her clients in order to help them accomplish their goals. Before starting her own practice, Trisha worked in both a large law firm and as general counsel for a small business. While working for one of the largest labor and employment law firms in the country, Trisha gained experience counseling employers on benefit law compliance and transactions....

Estate planning arranges for the transfer of an individual's estate at the time of death. An estate consists of all property owned at death before it is distributed by will, trust, or intestacy laws. An estate may contain both real property and personal property. Estate planning allows an individual to decide exactly who will benefit from his or her estate, and to what extent. It can also reduce the taxes imposed on the transfer of assets at death.

An experienced estate planning lawyer can help minimize the amount of the estate surrendered to taxes as well as ensure that the management and distribution of the estate is carried out according to your plans. Particularly when your plans are complex and/or you have substantial property or assets, it is important to have an attorney who can ensure that your plan functions the way you intend. Depending on the complexity of your individual situation, your estate planning team may include attorneys, financial planners, bankers and insurance professionals. Some states certify attorneys as estate planning specialists, which means they have met certain requirements for experience, education, and testing in that field.

Fiduciary:
A person or institution who manages money or property for another and who must exercise a standard care imposed by law, i.e., personal representative or executor of an estate, a trustee, etc.

Personal representative:
The person who administers an estate. If named in a will, that person's title is an executor. If there is no valid will, that person's title is an administrator.